Low ABV in U.S. beer to be popularized in the future?

Leinenkugel was a pretty good sized, smaller regional brewer (#19 overall in the US) in 1988 when Miller bought them - selling around 90k bbl. in the Great Lakes/Upper Mid-West region. (By comparison with other small brewers - Anchor was at 53k, BBC was 40k and SN was 14k.) Anyone who knew the US brewing industry OR drank beer in Wisconsin or neighboring states knew Leinenkugel decades before 2007.

By the end of the century, Leinenkugel was already in the 300-400k bbl. range (#12 in the US when viewed separately from Miller). Much of their growth in recent decades has to in part be attributed to that "macro" ownership, and their current position in MC's Tenth* and Blake specialty division. Obviously, MC has decided that the Leinenkugel label has become their "Shandy" brand, just as they've (sadly) decided to market their FMB-hard sodas under their Henry Weinhard brand.

* "Tenth" itself from the address of the ex-Heileman/Val Blatz brewery in Milwaukee on 10th Street that Miller bought for Leinenkugel in the mid-1990s.

 

The question for me would be what would the calorie count be like on a 1 percent abv beer? I'd happily replace my coke zero addiction with na or extremely low calorie [<40 calories] beer. I've found myself extremely pleased with both madtree psa and golden road wolf pup session ipas. Great flavor, but I can only catch a slight buzz after knocking back a bunch with buddies at a BBQ.

If low alcohol beer were still a hundred or two hundred calories a serving, I'd say screw it and stick to diet soda

 

Heileman in the 1970-80s advertised their Kingsbury Near Beer (the best-selling US NA before the major brewers' brands like O'Doul's, Sharp and Coors Cutter were released) as have 60 calories.


A short-lived "craft" NA, Firestone Non-Alcoholic, in the late 1980s was 75 calories. So was my favorite NA of that era, Birell, brewed with Brewer's Gold hops, by Ortlieb (a number of other US breweries - Matt, Pabst, Heileman - were later licensed to brew Birell for the US but of those others that I did have, they weren't nearly as hoppy).

Pretty sure AB's "LA BEER" of the late 80s was over 100 calories. By regulation, "low alcohol" in the US had to be under 2.5% ABV.

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Non-Alcoholics taking over?.... PHHFFFTT BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.......BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....hoo hoo, hee hee......hahahahaha....ohhhhh..................... No.

 

Smuttynose Hayseed is an amazing beer at 3.8% and shows low-ABV beers don't have to sacrifice flavor.
https://smuttynose.com/beer/hayseed/

 

Haven't read through the thread, but isn't low ABV already very popular? Bud Light is the standard beer standard beer choice around here. People that are more adventurous might drink All Day IPA or Super Session #2. I don't see most of the 'casual' public tossing back DIPA's very often.

 

Maria, I think I know where you are coming from but a skillful brewer can produce a low gravity beer that is still flavorful. Below is something I posted a few years ago on this topic:

“I did have a Stewart’s 60 Shilling Ale on cask (at a Yards Real Ale Invitational beer festival). That beer only was 2.7% ABV but it had a ‘ton’ of flavor for such a low gravity beer! It was a beer of beauty!! It is listed as being a Scottish Ale on BA but with a strength of 2.7% maybe it is close to being a ‘mild’?”

I had the pleasure to meet the brewer at a later beer event and I discussed this beer with him. I asked him whether he ever produced this beer again. With a smile on his face he shook his head. He then stated: “It took me forever to sell out that beer at the brewpub. Customers just are not willing to order a beer with so little alcohol”.

It would appear that the typical Stewarts Brewpub customer has attitudes similar to yours?

Cheers!

 

Wrong market. Brewpub customers are there to drink! If he distributed that to restaurants where people might just have one beer with a meal before going home he would have had a chance to have had a lot more success. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, our light amber ale is our highest seller - it outsells Corona nearly 4:1.

 

umm just look at sessions. They are everywhere.

 

That is an intriguing thought. I am uncertain how similar the restaurant beer market is in the US vs. Australia but that is something to me considered.

Maybe some BAs who work in the US restaurant business might be able to provide some input here. Would having more low alcohol beers available within the US restaurant business be a big seller?

Cheers!

P.S. In the US Brewpubs are a hybrid business. In some Brewpubs I go to I perceive they do more business on the food side than the beer side but I would not say that of all Brewpubs that I go to.

 

I am not opposed to lower ABV beer for a simple reason. I can choose to buy a stronger beer anytime I want, this is just a choice I feel. I can see people liking it when they are concerned about driving, etc. If you are out and want 1-2 beer and not sweat driving home hey 2%ABV may be nice to drink, then you are not so worried. I think it is just a decent way to offer another choice to some who want to avoid issues. You can at anytime just buy or drink your regular stuff.

 

Given the popularity of bud light, the market is there (though it wouldn't be considered light beer here). You don't have responsible service of alcohol laws - here it is illegal to serve you if you're too drunk and things such a shots or double measures of spirits aren't common and are often against house policy of a restaurant. You also have a higher drinking age so no teenagers who can't handle alcohol and I doubt your drink driving laws are as strict. So there's a good mix of laws that appeal. Or maybe we just can't tolerate alcohol. It would be very interesting to study.

I am fairly certain though that the market for low alcohol beer would be greater at restaurants than at a craft brewpub.

 

I will not argue with you here.

Cheers!

 

I suppose I should read the article....

NAH!

If I'm going in for a few hours of drinking beer, I'd much prefer to have several standard pours (12oz package or 14-16oz "Shaker pint") in the 4.5% -to- 5 ABV% range which covers everything from Macro Swill (Miller High Life) to a decent Pilsner. It's just part of the routine.

On the other hand, Craft Beer hobbyists generally enjoy higher strength and barrel-aged offerings, so the thrust of this article surely seems strange to most of the serious hobbyists here and at other sites and social media apps.

The interest in lower ABV or N.A. won't catch on with you lot 'til you hit your late 50s -- if ever! D:

Now, back when I worked retail --and dinosaurs roamed the earth-- I sold-through FAR more N.A. beer (including many more individual brands than I ever would've imagined there being) than I'd imagine possible prior to becoming a stockist on a day-to-day basis.

My regular clientele (who were just as demanding of freshness as the Micrbrew drinkers of the day, if not more) tended mostly to be folks who had given up full-strength for health reasons -- just as the article implies in-part. But it's not always due to health reasons. Rather, almost as many had given up full-strength beer due to the affects of age and of advanced age in particular. They still enjoyed beer for its effervescence and maltiness, as well as the "sense" of having a beer or so each night or alongside the other activities which they once associated beer.

Of course, with the world getting "bigger" (that is to say, the population is growing) there are more people reaching those ages where N.A. beer or (maybe) lower alcohol beers might be the right fit for them . . . right?

Cheers!

 

Moritz Fiege Sommerhopfen sounds like a name you'd get if you slammed your forehead onto your keyboard.

 

Not sure if it's been said yet (my attention span is not present today) but it's in my opinion that they are trying to create a market that they can succeed in. They can likely continue to buy up craft brewers but creating a demand for something they can do for a lot less money makes more bottom line sense.

 

ISO a sub-3% dry-hopped Pils~!